James Clarke

Portrait and reportage photographer James Clarke, originally studied Psychology at London Metropolitan University becoming obsessed with photography soon afterwards. He has been a freelance photographer for 7 years and prior to that had 6 years as a picture editor and photographer for The Times. Before that he was a picture editor for numerous titles and organisations including The Guardian, Time Out, Melody Maker, Dorling Kindersley and Getty Images. He shoots strong location portraits and powerful reportage images.

Testimonials

"James has been our photographer of choice over the last several years often accompanying our video teams in some challenging locations around the globe. Working, as we do, for many charity clients, James has the ability to help us tell stories through powerful portraits and reportage shots and his photography has been the backbone of some very successful campaigns over the past 4 years. His knowledge, attitude and experience are a perfect match for our approach and our clients. As creative director I seek out professionals who can exceed my expectations and can take an idea and execute it better than I imagined - James does just that and his work is testimony to that." Jonathan Jewel, Creative Director, The Drummer Agency

“James has the prime attribute of all really good photographers – he’s an excellent bloke who everyone (including his subjects) gets on with. He knows a bit about cameras too. The end result is top notch photographs which follow the brief.” Simon Crompton, Medical Editor, The Times

“The photography by James for Compassion from Uganda is absolutely fantastic. We were blown away. Thank you so much!!!!” Dave Olson, Head Of Marketing, Compassion International

“James has a terrific eye for both commissioning and producing photos. His work on The Times Body & Soul section ensured it had a high standard of photography. I was consistently impressed with his own photo shoots for the publication. His shoot of Lou Reed remains a particular favorite. He is professional and personable. I enjoyed my time working with him very much.” Mike Krage, Senior Designer, The Times

“James is a true professional – one of those people you can leave to get on with the job in complete confidence that you’re going to get a great result. It’s a pleasure to work with him and I can’t recommend him highly enough.” David Killen, Art Director, Prospect Magazine

“I worked with James on a number of assignments for the Times: he photographed celebrities I was interviewing for the paper, including Lou Reed and Imelda Staunton. I found him very easy to work with, which is important when time and cooperation are of the essence – and always totally professional. He gained the trust of even the most difficult or reluctant subjects in a short space of time and produced interesting and arresting portraits. James also took the author photographs used to publicise my book on the Empty Nest which was published last year. He took time to make me feel at ease and find the best settings, and produced a set of photographs which I was really thrilled with. He made the whole process painless.”Celia Dodd, author and freelance journalist.

"I've had a delightful morning with James Clarke Photographer. He's a fine man and knew how to squeeze and breathe with the essence of Lucas perfectly. I knew he was the man for me when I saw that he'd photographed Martina Navratilova. He's also the only person whose iPhone photographs have made me question my long-held belief that Instagram, as a concept, is rubbish. So if you need ace photos, he's a very good choice. So do 'hit him up'. He can also turn dogs into living art. Sadly, his dog was not prepared to eat treats from the top of my McNugget Bandana, but we did try, even at one point offering the dog a dried pig's ear, but she was having none of it." Phil Lucas, Comedian

“James has photographed portraits for Wanderlust magazine twice, and always delivers a great job with no hassle. He has a real knack for bringing out subjects’ personalities and relaxing them so that natural, fun portraits result. He’s also a lovely chap and a pleasure to work with.” Dan Linstead, Editor, Wanderlust Magazine

“James got the results we wanted on time and on budget. He also used his initiative to get the best out of the shoot. Very pleased all round.” Rob Williams, ITV Account Manager,

"James is lovely to work with. We've used his services for the past 3 years and he has always been professional and kept a smile. Most of all, the quality of his photography is great - it's why we trust him with the images that are then used throughout our advertising campaigns". Stuart Barrie, Marketing Manager, Leavers Hoodies

“I have worked with James on a number of projects. He is a very creative, professional photographer. He is a joy to work with.” Deborah Malthouse, Events Manager, Kent County Council

“While working for Time Out Magazine, both as a Picture Editor and a Photographer, James was a wonderful colleague and representative for the magazine. He has a gracious personality which enables him to work with people from all backgrounds, putting people at ease – young, old, famous and non famous. All this, and he creates great images. To sum up: To commission James, you can be assured to receive a great job, and your company/organisation being professionally represented.” Tricia Callaghan, Picture Editor, Time Out